The Intel LAN Fest Howies SoCal is taking place later this month in Mission Viejo (Los Angeles) on the 26th, 27th, and 28th. This event will be hosting a TF2 tournament on Saturday (the 27th) from 11AM until 3PM. You can see the full game tournament list HERE. A number of teams and competitive players have expressed interest in this event on both GotFrag and on the event forums. If you're interested in attending, check out the site of the event and the general information below:

Event Areas

• We have the traditional BYOC where people Bring Their Own Computer, connect to a Local Area Network (LAN) and play with friends.
• We also have rental spaces that include a great Howie's game machine.

Tickets and Prices

• All Access BYOC:
  • $25 BYOC pre-sale online (till February 19th)
  • $30 BYOC online and at the door starting February 19th
  • Includes one (1) seat with network hookup, 3.0A of power and allows participation in all BYOC events and tournaments.
• All Access Rental:
  1) $35 Rental pre-sale online (till February 19th)
  2) $40 Rental Online and at the door starting February 19th

I am not sure if you guys have heard about it but there is a LAN going down in Montreal this spring with TF2 as one of the tournament games. The event goes by the name of LAN ETS and the operators are offering $2000 for the top three finishers in the TF2 tournament. There will also be tournaments for CS:S, CS 1.6, COD4, Quake Live, DotA, NHL2010, and Guitar Hero. Lopert, a moderately well-known name in the competitive community, has suggested a map rotation for the event on their forums:

Je commence ce thread pour savoir quel maps vont etre jouer dans le tournoi de TF2. Pour donner une idée du standard, cet derniere saison de ESEA, la liste etait :

Semaine 1 - koth_viaduct
Semaine 2 - cp_follower
Semaine 3 - cp_freight
Semaine 4 - ctf_turbine
Semaine 5 - cp_badlands
Semaine 6 - cp_gravelpit
Semaine 7 - cp_yukon_final
Semaine 8 - cp_granary

Mon expérience me laisse l'impression que les maps en ordre de plus populaire à moins populaire est:
Top3 / Tier 1: cp_badlands, cp_granary, cp_gravelpit
Tier 2: ctf_turbine, cp_freight, koth_viacduct
Tier 3: cp_yukon_final, cp_follower

Donc ma question est, quel maps seront dans le tournoi de TF2?

En passant, si il y a qqn qui suggère 2fort, je vous étrippe

Of course if you can't speak French, you can probably only get the gist of what he's asking. Translation, courtesy of moi, below:

I will start a thread for discussion of which maps should be played in the TF2 tournament. To give an idea of the standard, aka the last season of ESEA, the list was:

Week 1 - koth_viaduct
Week 2 - cp_follower
Week 3 - cp_freight
Week 4 - ctf_turbine
Week 5 - cp_badlands
Week 6 - cp_gravelpit
Week 7 - cp_yukon_final
Week 8 - cp_granary

My experience leaves me with the impression that the maps, in order of the most popular to the least popular, are:
Top3 / Tier 1: cp_badlands, cp_granary, cp_gravelpit
Tier 2: ctf_turbine, cp_freight, koth_viacduct
Tier 3: cp_yukon_final, cp_follower

So my question is, what maps will be in the TF2 tournament?

Btw, if someone suggests 2fort, I will strangle you

So this event is on the same weekend as the ESEA-I LAN so we probably can't expect the very top teams to attend but the competitive community still needs to make a strong showing. It looks like there are only 3 teams signed up so far and they are looking for around 20. If you live in the area, you must attend this event and represent the competitive community. LANs are vital to the game's continued growth. If you are planning on attending, please contact me because I want someone to cover it for the site (along with the ESEA LAN).